Structure of hot water pipe inserted with heating wire

ABSTRACT

A structure of a hot water pipe inserted with a heating wire installed in the floor of a room for heating. The structure of a hot water pipe inserted with a heating wire is provided with a low water level sensor for sensing the level of the heating water filling the inside of the hot water pipe. The structure is configured to prevent the pipe from being overheated or to malfunction by a lack of hot water. The low water level sensor is configured to stably operate so as to reduce the failing rate thereof, thus facilitating maintenance control. A low water level sensor provided in an auxiliary tank or one side of a hot water pipe senses the level of the hot water to prevent an accident caused by a lack of hot water. The low water level sensor operates using A/C current inputted through a control unit to a thermostat.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire, the structure being installed in the floor for heating and, more particularly, to a structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire, the structure comprising a low level sensor for sensing the level of working fluid filled in the hot water pipe so as to prevent overheating or malfunction caused by a shortage of working fluid, in which the low level sensor is particularly configured to stably operate so as to significantly reduce the occurrence of failures of the low level sensor, thus facilitating its maintenance.

BACKGROUND ART

In the era of high oil prices, the installation of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire to provide electric heating by inserting a working fluid together with the heating wire into the hot water pipe has recently been increased, and an example thereof is Korean Utility Model Publication No. 2008-0004828 (published on 2008.10.22) filed and registered by the present applicant.

Referring to this publication, an auxiliary tank is provided at one end of a hot water pipe to supplement insufficient working fluid, and a pressure-receiving device is provided to receive the internal pressure of the hot water pipe upon rising so as to prevent any damage or breakage to the hot water pipe. That is, the hot water pipe is laid in the floor such that the working fluid is heated by the heating wire inserted therein to heat the floor, and in this process, when the internal pressure is increased by excessive heating of the working fluid, the pressure-receiving device receives the increased pressure to prevent any damage to the hot water pipe. Moreover, in the event of a shortage of working fluid after a long-term use or due to leakage caused by slight damage to the hot water pipe, the working fluid is supplemented from the auxiliary tank connected to the hot water pipe to overcome the sudden shortage of working fluid, thereby significantly improving the safety of use.

However, since the hot water pipe is laid in the floor and the auxiliary tank is located within an access door installed in the wall, it is not easy to frequently check the level of the auxiliary tank, and thus there has been a need to improve the convenience and maintenance. Moreover, a cut-off terminal of a thermostat for temperature control uses direct current (DC) power converted from 220 V alternating current (AC) power, and when the above problem is to be solved by installing a low level sensor that uses the converted DC power, the generation of sparks occurs easily due to the nature of DC power, which causes damage to or malfunction of the sensor, resulting in inconvenience for maintenance.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire, the structure comprising a low level sensor for sensing the level of working fluid filled in the hot water pipe so as to prevent overheating or malfunction caused by a shortage of working fluid, in which the low level sensor is particularly configured to stably operate so as to significantly reduce the occurrence of failures of the low level sensor, thus facilitating its maintenance.

Technical Solution

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire, the structure comprising: a hot water pipe which is filled with a working fluid and installed in a floor; a sealing means which is connected to an upper end of the hot water pipe to seal the inside thereof; a heating wire which is inserted into the hot water pipe to heat the working fluid; a power wire which is coupled to the heating wire; a thermostat which is connected to the power wire to supply external power and, at the same time, to control the overall operation; a low level sensor which is installed at one side of the hot water pipe to detect the level of the working fluid filled therein; and a controller which is electrically connected to the thermostat to control the low level sensor to be operated by AC power, which is input to the thermostat or input from the outside, by reducing the voltage of the AC power and, at the same time, to transmit a detection signal to the thermostat, the controller comprising a converter to convert the AC power to DC power and supply the DC power to the thermostat.

Preferably, the controller is provided either outside or inside the thermostat.

Preferably, the low level sensor is installed at one side of an auxiliary tank, instead of the hot water pipe, to detect the level of the working fluid filled therein.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, since the low level sensor, which is provided at one side of the auxiliary tank or the hot water pipe, detects the level of the working fluid filled therein, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of accidents due to a shortage of working fluid, and particularly since the low level sensor is operated by AC power input to the thermostat through the controller, the generation of sparks by the DC power does not occur, which significantly reduce the occurrence of failures of the low level sensor, thus facilitating the maintenance and reducing the maintenance costs.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit diagram showing the connection structure of a controller in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing the use state of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the operation state of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

MODE FOR INVENTION

Hereinafter, the structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Prior to this, the terms or words used in the specification and claims should not be interpreted as being limited to typical or dictionary meanings, but should be interpreted as having meanings and concepts which comply with the technical spirit of the present invention, based on the principle that an inventor can appropriately define the concept of the term to describe his/her own invention in the best manner.

Therefore, the embodiments described in the specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely the most preferred embodiment of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical spirit of the present invention, and thus it should be understood that various equivalents and modifications may exist at the time of filing this application.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit diagram showing the connection structure of a controller in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire according to the present invention comprises a hot water pipe 100, an auxiliary tank 200, a sealing means 300, a heating wire 400, a power wire 500, a thermostat 600, a cut-off terminal 620, a low level sensor 700, and a controller 800, and further comprises a pressure-receiving device 900.

Most of the hot water pipe 100, except for both ends, is laid in the floor and filled with a working fluid.

The auxiliary tank 200 is connected to an end of the hot water pipe 100 and filled with an auxiliary working fluid which will be provided to the hot water pipe 100 in the event of a shortage of working fluid. The auxiliary tank 200 has a diameter greater than that of the hot water pipe 100 and may be connected to either or both ends of the hot water pipe 100. A connector 210 is provided at the bottom of the auxiliary tank 200 for the connection to the hot water pipe 100. While the connector 210 is not necessarily provided to the auxiliary tank 200, it is preferable to provide the connector 210 for stable operation.

Meanwhile, the auxiliary tank 200 is shown to be provided at each of both ends of the hot water pipe 100, respectively, and it is apparent that both ends of the hot water pipe 100 can be connected to a single auxiliary tank 200 as shown in FIG. 3.

The sealing means 300 is to seal both ends of the hot water pipe 100 so as to prevent any leakage of the working fluid filled therein. As shown in FIG. 3, the auxiliary tank 200 is connected to both ends of the hot water pipe 100, and in this case, the sealing means 300 is connected to an upper end of the auxiliary tank 200 so as to prevent any leakage of the working fluid filled therein. This type of sealing means 300 has been mentioned in the art, and it is apparent that the sealing means 300 can have various known forms.

The heating wire 400 is inserted into the hot water pipe 100 to heat the working fluid, and it is preferable to use a non-magnetic field heating wire that suppresses the generation of electromagnetic waves.

The power wire 500 is coupled to the heating wire 400 to supply external power such that the heating wire 400 is heated. Specifically, the power wire 500 is inserted into the hot water pipe 100 through the sealing means 300 and coupled to the heating wire 400 to supply external power such that the heating wire 400 is heated.

The thermostat 600 is connected to the power wire 500 to supply external power and, at the same time, to control the overall operation. Although not shown in the drawings, the thermostat 600 is provided with a circuit board therein, a thermostat unit, a display lamp to check the operation state with the naked eye, etc. Meanwhile, the cut-off terminal 620, a component of the thermostat 600, is operated by DC power that flows in one direction converted from external 220 V AC power by means of the circuit board.

The hot water pipe 100, the auxiliary tank 200, the sealing means 300, the heating wire 400, the power wire 500, and the thermostat 600 are also well known in the art, and thus their detailed description will be omitted. The most significant differences between the prior art and the present invention are the following components, which will be described below.

The low level sensor 700 is installed at one side of the hot water pipe 100 or the auxiliary tank 200 to detect the level of the working fluid filled therein. For example, the low level sensor 700 is inserted into one side of the connector 210 that connects the hot water pipe 100 and the auxiliary tank 200 to detect the level of the working fluid filled therein. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, the low level sensor 700 may be directly installed at one side of the auxiliary tank 200 to detect the level of the working fluid filled therein.

Consequently, it should be understood that the low level sensor 700 can be installed anywhere, such as in the hot water pipe 100, the auxiliary tank 200, etc., as long as it can detect the level of the working fluid, which is also included in the present invention.

The controller 800 is electrically connected to the thermostat 600 to control the low level sensor 700 to be operated by AC power before the AC power input to the thermostat 600 is converted to DC power or by reducing the voltage of external AC power and, at the same time, to transmit a detection signal to the thermostat 600. The controller 800 may be provided separately at the bottom of the thermostat 600 as shown in the drawings or may be provided in the thermostat 600 in the form of a circuit board.

As shown in FIG. 4, through an input terminal, the controller 800 directly receives AC 220 V power input to the thermostat 600 and supplies the received AC power to the low level sensor 700 before the AC power is converted to DC power by a circuit board 610 shown with dotted lines at one side of the thermostat 600. At this time, the controller 800, which is provided with a down transformer 810, reduces the voltage to about 7 V. Moreover, it can be seen that the controller 800 is electrically connected to the cut-off terminal 620 of the thermostat 600 so as to check the sensing operation of the low level sensor 700 with the naked eye.

Meanwhile, the cut-off terminal 620 of the thermostat 600 is operated by DC power, and thus it is preferred that the controller 800 is further provided with a converter 820 comprising a rectification diode 822 and a transformer 824 and is electrically connected to the low level sensor 700 so as to convert AC power that operates the low level sensor 700 to DC power.

As such, the low level sensor 700 can detect the level of the working fluid filled in the hot water pipe 100 to facilitate the maintenance, and the low level sensor 700 is operated by the input AC power at low voltage. Accordingly, by overcoming the drawbacks of DC power, it is possible to allow the low level sensor 700 to stably operate and significantly reduce the occurrence of failures of the low level sensor 700, thus facilitating its maintenance.

Meanwhile, the pressure-receiving device 900 is connected to one side of the sealing means 300 to receive the pressure of the hot water pipe when it is increased by excessive heating of the working fluid, which is also well known in the art and thus its detailed description will be omitted.

The use and operation of the hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire according to the present invention having the above-described configuration will now be described below.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing the use state of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the operation state of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring first to FIG. 5, an access door 1000 is formed in the wall, and a hot water pipe 100 is laid in the floor, in which both ends of the hot water pipe 100 are arranged to protrude toward the access door 1000. An auxiliary tank 200 is connected to each of both ends of the hot water pipe 100, and a sealing means 300 is provided at an upper end of the auxiliary tank 200 to seal the inside thereof. At this time, as previously mentioned, a working fluid is filled in the hot water pipe 100 and a heating wire 400 is inserted therein. Moreover, a power wire 500 is electrically connected to a thermostat 600 and coupled to the heating wire 400 that is inserted into the hot water pipe 100 through the sealing means 300, thus supplying power.

Furthermore, a low level sensor 700 is provided at one side of a connector 210 which is provided at the bottom of the auxiliary tank 200, and the low level sensor 700 is configured to operate on power received from the thermostat 600 through a controller 800. In addition, a pressure-receiving device 900 is provided between the auxiliary tanks 200 and connected to the sealing means 300 through a pipe so as to receive the internal pressure of the hot water pipe upon rising.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the structure of the hot water pipe configured in the above manner is powered from the thermostat 600, the heating wire 400 coupled to the power wire 500 is heated to heat the working fluid, thereby providing heating. At this time, when the working fluid is excessively heated, the internal pressure is increased, and the increased pressure is received by the pressure-receiving device 900 connected to the sealing means 300.

During this operation, when the level of the working fluid filled in the hot water pipe 100 is lower than the position of the low level sensor 700 inserted into the bottom of the auxiliary tank 200, the low level sensor 700 detects the low level and transmits a detection signal to the thermostat 600, and then the controller 800 triggers a warning light and a buzzer such that a user can check the low level, and the thermostat 600 automatically cuts off the power of the power wire 500 such that the heating operation is not made any longer.

During this operation, since the low level sensor 700 detects the level of the working fluid, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of accidents due to a shortage of working fluid, and particularly since the low level sensor 700 is operated by AC power input to the thermostat 600 through the controller 800, the generation of sparks by the DC power does not occur, which significantly reduce the occurrence of failures of the low level sensor, thus facilitating the maintenance and reducing the maintenance costs.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the scope of the claims that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiments disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention.

Moreover, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, substitutions, and modification may be made in such equivalent structures modified or changed art from the conception and embodiments disclosed as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents. 

1. A structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire, the structure comprising: a hot water pipe filled with a working fluid and installed in a floor; a sealing means operatively connected to an upper end of the hot water pipe configured to seal the inside thereof; a heating wire disposed in the hot water pipe configured to heat the working fluid; a power wire coupled to the heating wire; a thermostat operatively connected to the power wire to supply external power and, to control the overall operation; a low level sensor which is installed at one side of the hot water pipe and configured to detect the level of the working fluid filled therein; and a controller electrically coupled to the thermostat to control the low level sensor to be operated by AC power, which is input to the thermostat or input from the outside, by reducing the voltage of the AC power and, at the same time, to transmit a detection signal to the thermostat, the controller including a converter to convert the AC power to DC power and supply the DC power to the thermostat.
 2. The structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire of claim 1, wherein the controller is provided either outside or inside the thermostat.
 3. The structure of a hot water pipe with an inserted heating wire of claim 1, wherein the low level sensor is installed at one side of an auxiliary tank, instead of the hot water pipe, and is configured to detect the level of the working fluid filled therein. 